There were 3 looks that drove everyone crazy over 2015 and they were balayage, ombre and babylights. For those of you who fell in love with those stunning hair designs, there’s good news ahead. 2016 is going to be a big year once again but this time for the following balayage highlight ideas.
We’ve learned a lot of about the humble highlight over the years and we’ve realized they can do a lot more for us than just add a bit of depth to our hairstyle. From teeny-tiny, barely there stripes to chunky and cool contrasts, there are so many ways to incorporate these balayage highlight ideas into your new ‘do.
1. Silver Blonde & Caramel Balayage Highlights
Jessica Biel is one Hollywood A-lister who’s opted for a balayage barnet and the technique is a relatively new one in the hair scene, requiring hairstylists to hand-paint the highlights on the areas of the hair the sun would hit if you were to be sat in the great outdoors, lapping up those beautiful rays.
Instagram / constancerobbins
The balayage look allows you to keep your hair looking natural even when you’re incorporating a lot of shades and color, giving you plenty of opportunities to get a little experimental.
2. Golden & Caramel Brown Highlights
Going from dark to light is a look that means hair appointments don’t need to be quite as frequent as they were before. Balayage highlight ideas like these are smart because no one would ever know if that dark color at the top was meant to be there, or if your recent blonde dye-job is simply growing out. The best news is… It’s a hot trend!
Instagram / paintedhair
The darker roots mean that it doesn’t really matter if your roots start to show through and in many cases, it’ll accidentally look like it was meant to be that way. Model Gisele Bundchen recently sported a great balayage blonde look and it’s definitely one that you should copy now!
3. Sun-Kissed Lob
Just because you have short(ish) hair doesn’t mean you don’t get to benefit from balayage. This is barely a shoulder-skimming length yet they’ve still managed to mix in that beautiful gradient of light to dark, just one example of how easy it is for anyone to rock this look.
Instagram / cassderosa
There are baby blonde highlights running through the hair from just below the roots and these cleverly add depth to the hair to make it appear thicker and fuller. Those textured layers at the end also help to add more oomph, especially when they have been tousled and flicked out to look like this. It’s a great look and one that takes just a few minutes with your hair dryer and a round brush in the morning.
4. Golden Blonde Highlights
Miranda Kerr is another celebrity fan of these balayage highlight ideas and for many of us, it’s the nostalgia it gives us of those summers we played outside for hours on end, not caring about anything at all.
Instagram / darlene_the_stylist
Balayage baby lights are almost like highlights but instead of being super obvious, they’re more subtle and toned down, looking more like sun-kissed rays than several-hour-salon-dye-job!
5. Honey Blonde Highlights for Brunettes
When you’re a brunette and you want to go blonde, it can seem like the bravest choice in the world but as you can see from these honey blonde highlights for brunettes, you don’t need to go all-out blonde in order to have all the fun they supposedly keep having…
Instagram / hair_by_cheri
Gentlemen may prefer blondes but all the girls will be lusting after this look for the summer. Those beach babe waves just add to the lust-factor!
6. Caramel Brown Highlights On Dark Hair
Let’s say you have naturally dark hair. Let’s also say that you fancy going a bit lighter for the warmer weather we’re expecting to happen real soon… What’s the best look for this? These caramel brown highlights on dark hair of course. What else?
Instagram / off7thsalon
You’ve got the best of both worlds. You can go as light as you dare on the ends. Trimming a few inches off the ends is a great thing from time to time so this balayage-highlighted look is perfect for just before that. Towards the top though, where the new growth is coming through, you treat the hair as little as possible, leaving it unbleached, untreated and not subjected to any dyes.
7. Red Balayage Highlights + Lob
One of the best things about the balayage style is that it can be tweaked to work with any style, shape or color and with there being so many tones and hues on the blonde, brown and even red spectrum to play around with, there are endless looks you can achieve.
Instagram / constancerobbins
You could look completely different every time you come out of the hair salon if you wanted to, just by changing the way the highlights frame your face or the color options you go with. This look could easily be changed the next time you visit the salon by having the balayage painting starting closer to the top of your hair. You could also leave just the ends with that little splash of color.
8. Natural, Dark Brown Root + Silver Blonde Highlights
Such an easy look for a daytime or nighttime event, you don’t need to go nuts with the waves and curls to show off the silver blonde highlights running through this beautiful, natural dark brown rooted look.
Instagram / annahdoeshair
If you don’t have time for a full head of styling first thing in the morning, use your blow dryer and a round hairbrush to get those bouncy big waves and if you have a little more time, flick out your hair straighteners quickly and on a lower setting, giving it a quick once-over with hairspray to keep it all in check. 5 minute hair indeed!
9. Warm Brown and Golden Blonde Highlights
The aim of the game with balayage is to achieve highlights but highlights that look more natural than they’ve ever done before. A french technique originally, it’s since taken over the world with many A-listers (and D-listers for that matter) rushing off to the hair salon to get their new do’ done.
Instagram / lemastyyles
We love the way the stylist has worked with the length on offer with this beautiful look, combining a lot of layers from quite hair up in the style, and also working in many shades of golden blonde and warm brown for a look that is perfect all year round. You could add a few lighter highlights for the summer and take some away for the winter. Nice and easy!
10. Copper Caramel Highlights
Balayage looks can be as sun-kissed and as natural as you’d like but at the same time, they can also be as bold and daring as you want to go, depending on the colors and shades you put together.
Instagram / glamiris
If you’re interested in trying out red for the first time, for example, why not look at something like this beautiful copper caramel look, combining natural tones of strawberry blonde over relatively natural, darker brown roots? There’s just enough red to say you’ve gone red but not too much that you look a little pillar-box Rihanna with those funky red curls. It’s a more flattering way of wearing quite a bold and brave color.
